


Far From a Monster

by BroomballKraken



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Attempted Kidnapping, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:34:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25040956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BroomballKraken/pseuds/BroomballKraken
Summary: As Caspar is returning to Garrag Mach after doing some training in the surrounding forest, he comes across some mercenaries trying to kidnap Marianne. Naturally, he isn't going to stand idly by and let them take her.
Relationships: Caspar von Bergliez/Marianne von Edmund
Comments: 16
Kudos: 34
Collections: Caspar Week 2020





	Far From a Monster

**Author's Note:**

> So this rare pair idea just randomly popped into my head while I was doing menial tasks at work one day, so cheers to me creating yet another new relationship tag here on AO3 lmao
> 
> Anyway, this is my first time writing these two, so plz go easy on me, and thanks for reading!

“Whew, what a great day of training!”

Caspar grinned as he strode through the forest surrounding Garrag Mach. He had just finished a training session that lasted a couple hours, so he was heading back to the monastery, and he hoped that they were serving something good in the dining hall. Swinging his ax around all day had really worked up his appetite.

A light breeze blew by, rustling through the leaves on the trees around him, and Caspar closed his eyes for a moment to appreciate the quaint feel of the forest. The training grounds at the monastery worked well enough as a place to hone his skills, but sometimes Caspar liked to get a change of scenery while training with his ax, and the forest definitely provided a nice atmosphere.

However, the calming atmosphere was about to be quickly shattered.

Caspar’s eyes shot back open as a scream suddenly pierced through the natural sounds of the forest, followed by loud, angry shouts. Not letting himself pause to think, Caspar bolted off in the direction of the scream, and he made sure to pull his ax out as he ran.

As he burst into a clearing, Caspar’s eyes widened when he saw Marianne stumbling backwards in his direction, away from a group of five heavily armed men, and they certainly didn’t look friendly. Clenching his teeth, Caspar quickly rushed over and placed himself between Marianne and her pursuers, his ax held in a battle stance.

“C-Caspar?” he heard Marianne stutter behind him. He glanced back at her briefly to assess her for injuries. Luckily, she looked unhurt, but she was trembling and tears were falling down her face, and that sight alone made Caspar’s blood boil with rage.

“Oi, boy! Get out of here! We just want the girl.” Caspar turned back to the group of men, as the one he presumed was the leader sneered and took a threatening step towards Caspar.

“Stay back, creep. Why do you want her?” Caspar demanded, his tone icy as he bared his teeth at the group. Most of them laughed and rolled their eyes, and the man who had spoken snorted and pointed his sword at Marianne.

“We’re being paid to bring this girl to someone. She’s a monster, we’ve been told, and we’d be doing everyone a favor in getting rid of her.” Caspar’s eyes narrowed into a glare as his grip tightened on his ax.

“That’s a bunch of bullshit. Marianne isn’t a monster at all!” Caspar took a step forward and puffed out his chest, trying to make himself seem taller. “Leave her alone and get lost.”

“Heh, or what? You’re gonna beat all of us, pipsqueak?”

Caspar didn’t back down as the men started closing in on him. He glanced back at Marianne again, and the immense amount of fear that he saw in her eyes gave him the resolve he needed to fight back.

“Get him!” the leader said, and Caspar blocked two swords with his ax, while ducking to avoid a third. One counterattack knocked one of the men’s swords away, and Caspar delivered a swift kick to another’s knees, a sickening crack filling the air; he would have to thank Linhardt later for the tips on how to fight taller people.

As the man he had kicked screamed and crumpled to the ground, Caspar ducked to avoid another attack, but couldn’t dodge a follow up fast enough, and he ended up with a gash on his right forearm. He cringed, but steeled himself quickly as adrenaline pumped through him, helping to lessen the pain. Caspar was in trouble, as two men were charging at him at once, but one of them was suddenly hit with a blast of white magic and was thrown into the mercenary leader.

“Woah,” Caspar said, gawking as he turned to look at Marianne, whose shaky hands were held up in front of her and glowing with a white light. A grin crossed Caspar’s face as the mercenary leader got back to his feet, but did not press the attack further.

“Tch, this isn’t worth it. We’re not being paid enough for this kind of trouble,” he growled, hoisting the man whose kneecaps were broken onto his back, “This isn’t over. We’ll be back for the girl eventually, boy.” With that, the mercenaries retreated into the forest, and Caspar let out a victorious yell.

“Yeah! You better run! And stay gone, or next time none of you will be able to run away!” Caspar called after them, and he turned to Marianne just in time to catch her before she fell to her knees.

“Hey, you okay?” Caspar asked, his brow furrowing with concern as he gently lowered her to the ground. Her entire body was trembling violently, and her breathing was erratic as her eyes remained tightly shut.

“Easy, they’re gone now. I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you, okay?” Caspar said, rubbing his hands gently over her arms. Her trembling lessened slightly, and she took in a deep, shaky breath and let it out slowly. Her eyes opened again, and they met his briefly, before she glanced down at his arm and gasped.

“C-Caspar, you-you’re injured…”

Caspar followed her gaze down to his arm, and he winced as the pain returned, now that his adrenaline had worn off. A bloody gash ran from his wrist up to his elbow, but luckily it didn’t seem too deep.

“Here, um, let me…” Marianne said, her voice quiet as she held her hands over Caspar’s wound, and he sighed with relief when the familiar warmth of healing magic enveloped his arm.

“Heh, I should come to you for healing all the time. You’re much gentler than Linhardt is, and you don’t make smartass comments all the time,” Caspar said, chuckling as he watched his wound start to close. He looked up at Marianne, and his laughter faded when he saw how stone-faced she looked, and her eyes had become watery again.

“I-I can’t believe this happened…”

“What-”

“Y-You should have let them take me!” Marianne suddenly cried out, her hands shaking as they hovered over Caspar’s mostly healed wound, and he was too shocked to respond right away. What was she saying?

“You were injured because of me...I only cause misfortune for everyone around me...I’m a-a monster!” she continued, the trembling of her hands enveloping her entire body as she started sobbing. Caspar’s eyes widened as he watched her, and he was completely flabbergasted at her words. Marianne thought of herself as...a  _ monster  _ of all things? No way he would ever believe that.

Caspar didn’t know much about Marianne, and had actually never talked to her before today, now that he thought about it. She seemed very quiet and reserved, and he usually saw her alone when eating or studying. She also seemed to like hanging around the stable, as Caspar sometimes saw her doting on one particular horse when he passed by sometimes. She seemed like the most gentle and harmless person at the academy, and nothing like the monster that she claimed to be.

“Just leave me here...I don’t-” Marianne started, but she was interrupted when Caspar suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. He had enough of this...this self-deprecating nonsense that she spoke. Marianne was tense in his embrace, and he moved one hand to her back, while the other gently coaxed her head to rest on his shoulder.

“Marianne…” Caspar started, and he felt her start trembling again, “You are many things: Kind, sweet, weirdly quiet, soft-spoken. And I know damn well that you are the absolute  _ farthest  _ thing from a monster.” He paused and started rubbing her back as she tried to choke back a sob. It was a failed effort, and Caspar felt a wetness on his shoulder as his shirt became stained with her tears.

“I don’t know why you think you’re a monster,” Caspar continued, his voice dropping to a whisper, “and I don’t know why those bastards are after you, but if they ever try to hurt you again, I’ll make damn sure that they will never, ever have another chance to do so. You can count on it.” Caspar trailed off and he held Marianne silently for a while, letting her cry as much as she needed to.

When Marianne finally lifted her head from his shoulder, Caspar gently brushed away the remaining tears that stained her face with his thumbs. She sniffed and rubbed at her red and puffy eyes.

“S-Sorry…” she mumbled, her gaze dropping to the ground as her chin dropped to her chest. Caspar shook his head and gently slipped his fingers under her chin, tilting her head back up so that her eyes met his.

“C’mon, you don’t need to apologize. You must have been really scared, right? Those guys could have really hurt you.” Caspar said, “What were you doing out here all by yourself, anyway?”

Marianne folded her hands in her lap and a light blush crept onto her face. “Um, well, I like to come and feed the birds out here in the forest sometimes...And today, one of my bird friends seemed distressed, and ended up leading me to her nest. One of her babies had fallen out, so I helped put it back.”

“Aw, that’s really sweet, Marianne!” Caspar said, a bright smile crossing his face, “You really like animals, don’t you?”

“Um, well, yes…” Marianne mumbled, the blush on her face growing deeper, “B-But then I realized that I was much farther from the monastery than I should have been, and that’s when those men found me…”

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” Caspar said, pushing himself to his feet, “C’mon, we should get out of here.” He offered a hand to Marianne, but when she took it and he tried to pull her to her feet, she ended up falling against him, and he grabbed her shoulders to support her.

“Ah, sorry…” Marianne said, “I, um, c-can’t seem to stop my legs from shaking…”

Caspar grinned and turned around, crouching down in front of her. “That’s okay! I’ll just carry you on my back.”

“A-Are you sure?”

“Yep!”

Caspar glanced over his shoulder at Marianne, who seemed to be hesitating. But she eventually leaned closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing him to stand up and get a firm grip on her legs.

“There! Are you comfortable?” Caspar asked, and Marianne responded with a slight nod. He began the journey back to the monastery, and they were both silent for a bit, before the silence was surprisingly broken by Marianne.

“Caspar...thank you, f-for saving me.”

Caspar grinned and turned his head to look over his shoulder. “Aw, it was really nothing-” he began, but he was cut off, as the sight before him caused his breath to catch in his throat, and his heart to skip a beat.

Marianne was  _ smiling  _ at him.

_ 'Oh  _ wow _ …’  _ was the only thought that ran through Caspar’s head, and his wide eyes remained completely fixed on Marianne’s face. He was certain that he had never seen her smile before, because he was sure that he would have remembered a sight so beautiful. Her face seemed brighter than usual, and Caspar could really tell that she was actually...happy. He suddenly felt his face heat up for some inexplicable reason. Huh...he hoped that he wasn’t getting sick or something…

“U-Um...Caspar...W-Watch out-”

“What?” Caspar turned to look ahead just in time to smack his forehead right into a low hanging tree branch. He yelped and cringed as he squeezed his eyes shut, resisting the urge to cover his face with his hands, as he did not want to drop Marianne from his back. Pain pulsed from his head; he was sure that a lump was forming where he was struck, and it was probably bleeding a bit too.

“Oh no! I-I’m sorry! I s-should have said something sooner…” Marianne said, and Caspar stood still as her hand moved to the front of his face, the soothing sensation of healing magic quickly dulling the pain.

“Ah, no, it’s my fault for not paying attention,” Caspar said quickly, letting out a sheepish chuckle. When Marianne’s hand dropped from his face to his shoulder, he felt her start shaking against his back. Concerned, Caspar looked back at her again, just in time to see her burst out laughing so hard that tears started falling down her face.

Dumbfounded, Caspar could only stare at her as he supported her weight and listened to that mesmerizing sound. He thought that Marianne’s smile was breathtaking, but her laugh..oh, he could listen to that laugh for a week straight and never tire of it. A broad smile slowly crept over his face, and soon his own boisterous laughter was mingling with hers. When Marianne finally regained control of herself and they both recovered from their laughing fits, Caspar watched as her face flushed a deep red.

“O-Oh! I’m sorry...I s-shouldn’t have laughed at that…” Marianne said, and she quickly averted her gaze when Caspar looked back at her again.

“Aw, don’t apologize. It was pretty funny,” Caspar said, letting out another chuckle, “Besides, it was totally worth it just to hear that pretty laugh of yours, Marianne.”

“P-Pretty?” Marianne sputtered, her voice barely above a whisper. Caspar watched as her gaze slowly drifted back up to his face, her captivating gray eyes meeting his teal, and he couldn’t help but think that there were many pretty things about Marianne.

“Yeah, pretty. I gotta come up with more ways to make you laugh like that. Hopefully ones that are less painful for me.” Caspar grinned as Marianne’s cheeks flushed a bright red, and she quickly hid her face against his shoulder. Caspar stifled his laughter this time as he started walking again, and he decided against teasing her any longer.

Caspar nudged Marianne gently by shrugging the shoulder she was resting on. He waited until she lifted her head slightly so that she was peeking at him with one eye, and he asked, “Hey, you hungry?”

“Um...I guess so…”

“Alright! Let’s go get some grub! I’m famished after kicking those creep’s asses!” Caspar smiled when Marianne giggled softly, “Oh, but we should probably go and tell the professor or Seteth what happened first.”

“O-Okay, I, um, I’d like that…”

“Great, let’s go!”

Caspar picked up the pace and practically ran the rest of the way back to the monastery, eager to get some food in him, but even more so to make sure Marianne was back to being safe from those dangerous mercenaries. They had called her a monster...what a load of shit. There was no monster that Caspar knew of that had a smile or laugh that could make his heart soar like hers did for him. She was more like...an angel sent by the goddess herself; definitely the farthest thing from a monster.


End file.
